


Another I

by SharpestRose



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-01
Updated: 2011-07-01
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:52:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharpestRose/pseuds/SharpestRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hey, I know I shouldn't be asking this, but do you think if things were different that things between you and me would be different, too?" - Faith, 'Enemies'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another I

March 10, 1997

 

"Oh, hey, can you help me?"

Willow turned at the question, her long shapeless hair falling around her face. A girl about her own age was looking at her, the expression one of total disorientation.

"Sure, where do you need to go?" Willow stepped out of the way as Cordelia and Harmony shoved past. The girl who had spoken smiled, relieved.

"I need to see... uh..... Rupert Giles." She fished a scrap of paper from the pocket of her pants to check the name. The pants themselves were red patent leather, hugging and sexy.

"Mr Giles is the librarian." Willow explained. "I can take you there if you like."

"Could you? That would be great. I'm like lost beyond belief here." The girl held out her hand. "Name's Faith, and you are?"

"Willow Rosenberg. Are you a new student?"

Faith laughed as they walked. "Me, school? No, my job brought me here."

"You work at the library?"

"Yeah, something like that." Faith smiled. "You seem kinda nervous, what is it?"

"What, oh, nothing." Willow shook her head. "Nothing is wrong, what could be wrong?" she waved frantically at two boys approaching them. "Nothing. Nothing, why would anything be wrong?" she laughed, a false, forced sound. "Faith, these are my friends Jesse and Xander. Guys, this is Faith. She needs to see Mr Giles."

"Hey." Xander smiled and turned to Willow. "Will, my math teacher says if I don't pass the next test I'm going to be expelled. Please say that you will lend me your brain."

Faith tuned out of their conversation and smiled at the other boy, Jesse. He smiled back.

"Hi. Are you a student?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it but maybe." She smiled, looking down at their feet. "But I gotta get to the library."

"Oh, right, sorry, I'll get you there." Willow grabbed Faith's hand and pulled her quickly along the hall. "Bye Jess, bye Xander!" she smiled again and hurried down the hall.

"Find the calm, Willow!" Faith exclaimed, rubbing her shoulder. "You almost pulled my arm out there! What's up?"

"Xander and I have what you might call relationship troubles right now." Willow said, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"What's the trouble?"

"There's no relationship." Willow sighed.

"So you like him and he's oblivious?"

"Yeah." Willow pushed her hair back again as it fell onto her cheek. "Here's the library."

Faith knocked on the counter and looked around.

"Yoohoo. Mr Giles? You here? Hel-lo?"

"There is no shouting in the library. You students never respect a place of learning." An english man in a jacket came out of the back room shaking his head. "Oh, hello Miss Rosenberg."

"Hi." Willow smiled shyly.

"I'm Faith." Faith pushed herself up onto the counter and banged her heels against it. "You asked the council for the slayer?"

"Oh, oh, yes." Giles stammered, putting the books he had been holding down next to Faith. "Willow, if you could leave us for a few minutes…"

"Yeah, I've got to get to class anyway." Willow said sadly, shut out of anything fun.

"Meet me back here after?" Faith asked her as she left. Willow smiled, delighted at the request, and nodded. When she'd gone Faith turned back to Giles. "Nice kid."

"Yes, she's always very helpful." He said, opening on of the books beside Faith. "You're not the actual slayer I take it?"

"No, I'm third in line at the moment." She explained, stilling her feet when the librarian glared at her for the banging. "But I'm a very good fighter and I like the slaying so the council said I could come help out here until the real slayer has free time."

"Well, thankyou for coming. We have a bigger problem the I anticipated when I requested you, actually." Giles said with a worried frown, turning the pages quickly. "Here. The Harvest."

"Oh he's attractive." Faith said, looking down at the woodcut of the vampire.

~~~

"So tell me more about Xander." Faith said, sitting on the picnic table and looking out at the football field. Willow smiled as she unwrapped her lunch.

"I've had a crush on him for, like, ever." She said with a small sigh. "But he doesn't feel that way about me."

"How do you know? He might." Faith stole a carrot stick and bit down on it.

"Why? I mean, look at me. I don't have nice hair or a pretty face or cool clothes like you…" Willow's expression was cloudy and unhappy.

"Hey, hey, hey, I won't have you insulting my new friend like that!" Faith put down the half-eaten carrot stick and looked at Willow. "For one thing, I think you're beautiful. Your hair, well, why don't you try dyeing it? We'll go get a rinse after you finish school this afternoon. Or you could cut it, it's always falling in your face."

"I don't know…" Willow sounded unsure but intrigued by the idea.

"And I'll lend you clothes if you want."

"Really?" Willow looked surprised. "You'd do that?"

"Sure, what are friends for?"

"I've never had a girlfriend before…. I mean, a friend who is a girl. Not an actual girlfriend.." Willow stammered, blushing. Faith laughed.

"Girl, you gotta chill. We'll turn you into a right little vamp and Xander won't know what hit him… does Jesse have a girlfriend?"

"No, none of us do… I mean, Xander and Jesse don't. And I don't have a boyfriend. That's what I meant."

"Will, what did I just say about chilling? I can call you Will, right?"

"Sure."

~~~

"Oh. My. God." Xander did a double-take, staring at the door of the Bronze. "Jesse, I'm hallucinating."

Xander's friend looked over at the same thing Xander was gazing at. "If you're imagining it, then so am I." He said finally.

Willow put her arms up across her chest nervously, feeling naked in the tight blue t-shirt with its low neckline and figure-hugging cut. The dark denim jeans weren't typical Willow fashion either. And short red hair was certainly a very new look.

Faith entered through the door behind her and spotted the two boys.

"Hey!" she waved them over. Willow turned bright red when she saw them staring. Faith punched her in the arm. "Play it cool girl. You'll have Xander eating out of the palm of your hand by the end of the night.…. or any other body part of your choice."

That had Willow turning twice as red.

"I should just go home. This isn't me." She muttered, then smiled at Jesse and Xander as the approached. Faith wordlessly pulled Jesse onto the dancefloor, leaving Xander and Willow alone.

"Wow. You look… different." Xander managed. "A good different. A very good different."

"It was Faith's idea." Willow looked down at her outfit, her arms still crossed over her breasts. Then she straightend a little, dropping her hands to her sides and standing tall. "I like it though."

"Believe me when I say uh-huh." Xander agreed. They walked further into the club, a wide grin on both their faces.

~~~

Faith looked over Jesse's shoulder at Willow and Xander dancing.

"They make a cute couple. We should go on a double date sometime."

Jesse just shook his head. "Where have you been all our lives, Faith? You've been here less then a day and already the whole world's turned on its head. I feel almost scared as to what's gonna happen to me next."

"Can I cut in?" What happened next was a petite blonde girl came over and asked Jesse to dance. He looked at Faith for permission and she nodded, heading over to buy an iced coffee.

She sat at the counter, watching Jesse and the girl dance. Willow and Xander were holding each other as if it was the last slowdance of the night, even as techno pumped through the speakers. Faith felt satisfied with her day's work.

"Your new boyfriend's dancing with death."

Faith turned. On her left a guy a little older then her was watching Jesse and the girl. She raised an eyebrow.

"And who are you?"

"A friend." he got up to leave. Faith grabbed his arm.

"I like to know my friend's names, it's just this little eccentricity of mine, y'know?"

He looked straight at her. "Angel. Now go save him." Jesse and the girl were moving into the shadowy recesses at the back of the room. Faith nodded and hopped down off the seat.

~~~

"I'm not very good at compromising and negotiation. So how's this? You don't kill my friend and I don't slay your sorry ass." Faith said conversationally. The blonde girl whirled around to face her. Jesse started to stammer at Faith that he wasn't going to do anything, he was just sitting down. She waved her hand at him.

"As if I'm caring. Go get yourself a latte or something. I'm going to have a conversation with… what's your name?"

"Darla." The girl said sullenly, a little afraid.

"With Darla here. Run along."

Jesse did the sensible thing and went to get a latte. Faith sprawled on one of the couches, putting her feet on the table in front of it.

"Sorry if I seemed a bit rude then. I'm new in town and I don't know the etiquette, see?"

Darla glared at her.

"You're no slayer."

"Well, technically not. But I reckon I could still dust you." Faith shrugged. "Call it a hunch."

"I've faced down real slayers. Why would I be scared of a little urchin playing dressup?" Darla said menacingly. Faith shrugged.

"I've killed cadres of big, smelly ugly demon-guys. A girl in a private school uniform isn't really giving me the willies. Like I said, I'm new, and I don't see why life has to be any harder for either of us then necessary. How about, you guys don't kill the population and I don't play with a flamethrower in your dormitory. Live and let unlive."

"Compromise is for the fearful." Darla sneered. Faith shrugged again, standing back up.

"Who said compromise? I said get out of my sight before you piss me off." Faith smiled and patted Darla's cheek, then walked back onto the dancefloor.

"You'll regret you let me live!" Darla called after her. Faith turned and flipped her the bird.

~~~

Willow, Jesse and Xander were sitting at one of the high tables, watching as Faith approached.

"What was with that?" Willow asked.

"Just someone from my job." Faith pulled up and extra chair and joined them.

"This would be the work that nobody actually knows what is." Xander explained. "That involves our school librarian and some girl dancing with Jesse?"

"Yeah." Faith took a sip of Willow's tea.

"Do we get to know what it is?" Willow asked. Faith shook her head.

"You don't want to know. Really, trust me on this one."

"I've spent most of the afternoon trusting you while you cut my hair and picked out my clothes. Now I feel it's time for me to assert my sense of self and say please tell us please please." Willow said, leaning over the table to whisper conspiratorially. "Who was that guy who was talking to you at the counter. More secret scary work stuff?"

"Maybe. Not sure." Faith shrugged one shoulder.

~~~

Faith was walking home to the motel when she got the feeling she was being watched.

"Ok, show yourself." She called to the night, feeling inside her jacket for a small stake. A figure stepped out in front of her. She dropped her hand with a sigh.

"Oh, it's you."

"Walking home in the dark in this part of town. Very safety-smart." Angel said with a smirk.

"I can take care of myself." Faith tapped her foot. "Now are we going to share or am I going to keep walking and get home in time to watch the X-files?"

"Just thought you could use this." Angel handed her a small box. She opened it.

"It's pretty." Faith traced the clean lines of silver with her finger, lifting the chain and watching the cross spin on the end. "But I'm not really the goth jewellery type." She threw it to Angel who caught it automatically, then hissed in pain. Faith pulled the stake out again.

"I knew there was something funny about you."

"Calm down. I didn't come here to hurt you." Angel held his hands up in peace, one of the palms marred by a burn from the necklace.

"Then what?" Faith relaxed but stayed in a fighting stance.

"You didn't kill Darla tonight."

"I wouldn't be questioning my compassion at this point if I were in your shoes." Faith pointed out. Angel nodded.

"That's true. Was it fear? That let her live?"

"Why the sudden talkativeness? At the Bronze you were kind of one-line guy and then left." Faith looked at the necklace lying on the pavement. "And why the gift? Let me guess, the vampires wanna smoke the peace pipe, everyone living in a happy undead harmony?"

Angel shook his head. "You should be so lucky. I'm not on good terms with Darla and her friends."

"And I guess if I ask why then you're going to leave again?"

"Actually I was planning on walking you home. This really is a bad part of town." Angel held his hand out. Faith took it.

"That works too." She grinned.

~~~

"She isn't a real slayer." Darla explained. "Just a child with too much aggression."

"I don't know if I should be offended or glad for their lack of fear in me. It will make my freedom easier to attain." The Master tapped a long-nailed finger against his chin.

"She has friends. Weak young tender things." Darla continued. "And she wanted to bargain with me."

The Master smiled.

"Perfect."

~~~

Night passed, as the night does, stealthy and slow, hiding secrets in the pockets of its shadow coat, whimpers of frightened prey and the buzz of fluorescent lights. Then the sun rose, washing away the patina of tarnish that the darkness left on the world, and it was day again.

~~~

Faith rushed into the library, her hair even messier then usual.

"What's wrong?" Giles asked, standing up from his desk as he saw her wild expression.

"Xander, Willow and Jesse are all missing. I think they've got them." She went over the weapons cabinet that he had shown her yesterday. "I'm going to get them before night falls."

"You can't just go rushing in! You'll be killed."

"Yeah well maybe." Faith loaded a crossbow and hefted an axe in the other hand. "Maybe not."

"I'm sorry your friends are in danger and we'll do everything we can to save them but you mustn't put yourself at undue risk. The Master's freedom is a far more important problem to avoid."

Faith just stared at Giles for a few seconds, then shook her head.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree. These people are my friends and it's because of me they're in danger. That's pretty important."

"I wouldn't have this problem with the real slayer." Giles muttered, rubbing his forehead. Faith looked taken aback.

"What?" she laughed bitterly. "Jeez, at least the vamps take me seriously! Screw this." She walked towards the door.

"You're going to ignore your duty in favor of selfish endeavors?" Giles looked shocked.

"No, you forget. I'm not the real slayer. I have no 'duty'. I'm just a girl who's going to go save her friends. You can do whatever you like, I don't care." Faith stormed out of the library.

~~~

Since Faith didn't know where the vampire's hideout was, she tried the graveyard first. One of the small tombs wealthy families invest in looked recently disturbed.

Darla was waiting inside, just out of the light.

"We've been expecting you." She said to Faith as if it were a social call.

"I'm in a really not good mood right now, and I will use this." Faith held up the crossbow. "Did you send Angel to distract me last night? God I was stupid. I like killing you guys. It gives me a big rush. But I thought I could cut my workload down if I could make you see the lack of need for violence here. But hell, violence works too."

"Angel's in town?" Darla looked surprised. "It's a big old reunion. The demons, the renegade and the slayer. Well, not really the slayer."

Faith lifted the the crossbow and aimed. "I'm getting sick of people saying that. I'm here to get my friends and I'm going to get them whether I have to kill you or not. Now, why is Angel the renegade?"

"He likes to pretend that he's a good guy. But he's not. And somehow, I don't think you are either."

"I will fire this at you, is that the actions of a bad guy?" Faith put her finger on the trigger.

"Go get your friends, little girl." Darla stepped aside so the door was unblocked. Faith edged past her and ran down.

~~~

Faith was wary when she found her friends. It had been too easy. She could see Willow's red hair up ahead in the tunnel. There wasn't even a guard.

"Guys?" Faith touched their shoulders. They seemed to be unconscious. Xander groaned and moved his head a little, then opened his eyes.

"Faith." He said as if he couldn't quiet believe it. Then he shut his eyes again as if he was in pain. "You gotta run."

"What? Come on, I'm here to rescue you. We gotta get out of here!" she shook Willow. She began to wake up too.

"Faith, listen to me. This is a trap. Run away right now of you'll die." Xander pleaded quietly.

Willow's eyes opened.

"Faith run!' she shouted. "You've got to go!"

"Not without you guys." Faith held her hand out. "Come on."

"Xander hold me down." Willow said quietly. Xander grabbed his friend's hand and gripped it tightly. Faith just stared, not understanding. Then Willow's features morphed into a demon face.

"Oh my God..." Faith whispered.

"You have to go right now. I don't think we're gonna be us much longer. Faith, please." Xander was desperate.

"Oh God... I'm sorry." Faith took one last look and ran out of the tomb before the other vampires could realise that the plan hadn't worked. Xander and Willow were too kind for it to follow through.

~~~

She sat in the graveyard and sobbed.

It was midday so she wasn't in any danger. Faith cried for her loneliness before yesterday, the joy at finally having friends. The ache of having failed them. Her self-hatred for not being the real slayer, for not being what everyone needed her to be. She wasn't going to go back to that stupid librarian watcher, she'd lost her friends… there was nobody left in Sunnydale who wanted Faith. Who cared at all.

Faith thought about what Darla had said. *And somehow, I don't think you are either*. Why not go back? Be with her friends? Faith had no ties to the 'good' side anymore. She'd make one badass vamp, too.

But that was what they all expected of her. Her Mom, Mr Giles, Darla… Bad Seed Faith. Not the real slayer, just a little girl who would one day grow up into a big bad.

Screw that. Faith wanted nothing more at this point then to disappoint all those who had failed her. They thought she'd turn bad? Well, so much the better.

~~~

And the night crept back, crowing at the pain it had left behind on its last visit. Watching with a million eyes, the eyes of the small predator in the woods, the eyes of the man at the door of the nightclub who watched all the pretty girls in their pretty lolita clothes, a million eyes watching a young woman with hollow eyes climb onto a bus that moved with a sickening lurch over the town border. Night's gaze watched the headlights of the bus vanish into the night, a figure on the back seat half-turned so she could look one last time at another home she'd managed to screw up completely.

Day came earlier that morning, the sun racing to reach the sky. Perhaps out of sympathy, understanding that the girl - not much more then a child, really - would not be able to sleep until it was light outside. When the monsters would be at rest.

~~~

The bar was a dive, and she was tired, but after a long trip she'd made it. Nightmares bounced around her head, and wouldn't leave her alone. But it was just after dawn, and it was miles away from the Hellmouth. No vampires with familiar faces to get her. Not here. Not yet.

Faith sank onto a stool at the bar and ordered a whiskey and coke. The barman looked like he wanted to ask for ID, then decided not to as Faith gave him what she thought was a steely glare but actually looked like the gaze of a war refugee.

"That's a whole lot of drink for not much girl." A voice said from a few seats down. This time of morning - about 5:30 or so - there weren't many patrons in the bar.

"Then you don't know how to drink, and you don't know how much girl I am." Faith replied. The speaker looked up. She was about Faith's age, blondey-brown hair and a face that would have been pretty if it weren't for the black eye.

"You're Buffy Summers, aren't you?" Faith said, picking up her drink and moving down to the empty seat beside the girl.

The girl looked like she was going through retorts in her head. Who wants to know? Depends on who's asking. Finally, she nodded once.

"Yeah. Did I know you at Hemery? I don't remember so much from then."

"I'm third in line for your job, actually. Don't think I'm well qualified." A pang went through her as she thought of her friends again.

"You're welcome to it." Buffy said with a snort, tipping the last drops of her drink onto her tongue. They missed, hitting her lower lip. She sucked them off and motioned to the bartender to refill her glass.

"Coulda done with the strength in Sunnydale." Faith said. Maybe they would have taken her seriously at any rate. She hadn't actually done any fighting.

"I heard one of you girls was heading that way. Back so soon?" Buffy sounded half-interested, the eye that wasn't swollen shut fixed on Faith's face.

"Yeah. It was not a good scene." Faith sighed and finished her own drink. "I let some people I cared about down and they're now batting for the other team, if you get me."

"Eventually you'll learn that it's easier when you don't care." Buffy told her, playing with the ice cubes in her drink, voice soft and a little sad. "My mother wanted to move to Sunnydale, actually. Give me a new start. All I want now is an ending."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Faith didn't want to be the cause of any more pain. Except to vampires. Major pain going on there.

"I know. I like your necklace." Buffy changed the subject, gesturing to the cross around Faith's neck.

"It was a gift."

"From one of the people you let down?"

"Sort of. Someone I never got a chance to help, anyway."

"Then wear it all the time. It'll keep them with you when you need them most." Buffy's own slender fingers touched a watch that was too loose on her wrist, the band the sort of style women in their forties wear. Faith didn't have to ask.

"You got a place round here? Cos I sort of need somewhere to crash."

Buffy nodded.

"Sure. The house is too big for one person anyway."

~~~

"Wicked." Faith said by way of complement upon seeing the front garden at Buffy's home. "Red roses are the prettiest ones, don't you think?" she trailed her fingers across the dark petals.

"I always sorta liked the pink ones." Buffy admitted. "I used to think they looked like strawberry icecreams."

Her whole face changed when she said that, the hostile expression opening up a little to reveal the young girl that still cowered somewhere inside her.

Faith smiled a little and plucked the smallest of the pink flowers, a bud barely opened in the morning sunshine.

"For the real slayer." she said, presenting the tiny rose to Buffy, who took it with another smile, this one more guarded but still shot through with happiness. It was hard to be sad in the sunlight.

"And for my second understudy, who's gonna kick some vampire tail when the time comes."

Buffy pulled one of the darker roses out of the bush.

"Wish vampires did have tails. It'd make them easier to spot." Faith muttered. Buffy laughed a little and held the rose out. Faith took it, their fingers brushing for a moment.

"Mmn. Smells nice." Faith said, burying her nose in the flower and inhaling. "Ow." Her fingertip had come in contact with a little green thorn on the stem. A drop of blood, same shade as the petals, welled up from the tiny nick.

Faith dropped the flower she'd been smelling and ran over to the tap for the garden hose, wrenching the flexible pipe off the faucet and turning the water on full blast, holding her finger underneath. She was shaking, her shoulders shivering like she was in a snowstorm. Buffy ran over after her, not noticing her boot crunching down on the two forgotten blossoms.

"Faith. It's ok. Shhh." Buffy comforted as Faith tried to hold in the first gasping sob.

"It's not. It's never going to be ok. I let them down."

"I know. I know. Shh.." Buffy's voice was soothing, but it was having no effect.

"They died and it's my fault. I'm stupid, stupid, stupid." Faith muttered. The water pressure was so strong her hand was turning red.

"How many other people have you saved? We fight, and eventually we die. That's the way the game works. Every life you save is a round we win. Every life you can't... that's a lesson you learn. It's hard and it's painful, I know. God, I know." Buffy held her arms around Faith, willing her to calm down. Eventually, she did, the fight and tension going out of her body and slumping against Buffy, crying quietly into her shoulder.

"God, I've cried so much this week. Usually, I never cry." Faith said, a little embarrassed, when they stood up. Faith turned the water off, the tap giving a relieved groan and the thundering pressure slowed to a stop.

"Eventually you run out of tears." Buffy assured her. "Then it gets easier."

"I hope so." Faith's voice was so quiet that normal hearing would have picked up simply a breathy whisper. "Because it's so damn hard."

Buffy nodded, her wide, pale eyes tearing up and her lower lip trembling a little. Now it was Faith's turn to wrap her arms around fragile flesh in a bruisingly tight hug. To a passer by, it would have looked a sweet, innocent scene, two teenage girls hugging in the front garden, the bright sun chasing shadows off to cower in nooks and crannies, out of the way.

~~~

"Ever notice how slaying makes you hungry and horny?" Faith asked, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the queen-sized bed. Buffy had leant her some clothes, all of Faith's were crumpled and most needed a wash, which they were getting, downstairs in the laundry. She felt kind of un-her, in baggy lemon-coloured pants and a little white singlet top. Buffy wore the same thing, except she kept her bra on under the singlet, something Faith found sort of funny.

"You think?" Buffy said, looking over her shoulder with a grin. They were both feeling better now, it was midday and they were settling down to watch a bunch of old musicals that Buffy had on tape. The girl herself was currently pushing the rewind button on the videoplayer, crouching down at the foot of the big bed that had been her parent's, once upon a time. "You, my dear Faith, are not the real slayer."

"So everyone keeps reminding me." Faith said with an expression that was half-annoyed, half bittersweet happysad.

"No, what I meant was, wait until you are. Then you will know the true definition of hungry and horny. There was this big, like, biker gang of vamps, right?" Buffy jumped up on the bed next to Faith, smiling as she talked. "And when I was finished with them, whew! I think I ate an entire Pizza Hut that night. Not to mention a serious case of the - "

"Good low-down tickles?" Faith supplied. Buffy laughed.

"Something like that."

"So what did you do about that? Pizza Hut's not exactly a solution."

Buffy shrugged. "This isn't exactly a great line of work for deep and meaningfuls. Or quick and anonymous, come to that. Went home and worked out."

"Wouldn't that just make it worse?" Faith was suddenly conscious that she'd been looking at Buffy fairly intently, transfixed by the way her eyelashes were like fragile feathers against her skin, her mouth opening each time she spoke, and that cute little thing her nose did at the end.

Another shrug. "Yeah. I was pissed, too. They'd given me this." Indication to the black eye that was healing up fast, now a rotten brown-yellow color instead of purple-black. "And all I got was a few dollars from their Harley saddlebags. Barely enough to buy a few drinks."

"When was that?"

"Couple of hours ago." Buffy smiled. "I'd only been in there a few minutes when you showed up."

"Sounds like a better night then I had." Faith said ruefully. "I'm not sure guilt goes well with my complexion."

"It's a nice complexion. Where's your family from?" Buffy asked, propping herself against the mass of pillows behind them. The movie played on, unheeded and silent, the volume had been put on mute during some previous viewing and neither of them had noticed.

"Search me. Dad was never part of the picture, and Mom's just Irish Catholic. That's where I got my name from."

"I was meaning to comment on that. I like it. It's interesting."

Faith smiled.

"Thanks. I like yours too. Buffy. B."

Buffy smiled in return and they sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, both looking at the other with eyes that were hungry and lonely and hollow with mourning.

"So... you still feeling horny?" Faith ventured eventually. Buffy exploded into a fit of hysterical laughter. The expression suited her face better then sorrow had.

"You use that line on all the slayers?" she managed to say finally, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. Faith pretended to scowl and hit her with one of the pillows.

"Hey!" Buffy hit back. Faith hit back. It became a predictable situation very fast. Childish laugher echoed through the empty house, staving off the whispers of the dead for a little while.

"That was the worst pickup line I've had used on me all year." Buffy said when the game had gotten boring and they were once again laying back and pretending to watch the movie, really watching each other.

Faith broke the silence.

"Do you want to fight?"

Buffy looked at her with incomprehension.

"Not in a pillow way. Full on fisticuffs, bruises and sprains and blood fighting." Faith's eyes flicked over Buffy's body. "You'd have to go easy on me, 'course. Not quite up to your strength level."

After a minute, Buffy gave a nod. "Ok. My practice area's downstairs."

~~~

It turned out to be a converted garage, with a punching bag hanging down in one corner and other exercise equipment along one wall. A single window let a shaft of light into the room, the dust in the air caught by the midday sun.

"Merrick, my watcher, died a while back. They haven't sent anyone new, just telephone me sometimes with instructions – more like orders. I just kind of keep myself in shape and fight anything otherwordly that gets in my way." Buffy explained. Faith looked around.

"You've got quite a setup down here."

Buffy shrugged, hefting an old gym mat down off a stack and onto the floor. "Ok, so how do we work this? I hold back to about the same level as you're at, and we just fight until we get bored?"

"That's the plan." Faith said with a grin. "Give us a kiss."

Buffy's first punch connected with Faith's shoulder as Faith dropped under it and punched up at Buffy. Neither of them used their legs much, preferring to simply hit wildly and hope it would connect with something soft. Even when Buffy was playing gentle, Faith had a hard time keeping up with the skill and strength of the slayer. They were still dressed in the loose pants and singlets, their hair tied back in matching ponytails, one the colour of dark honey, the other chocolate, mirroring each other's moves, looking for openings when the other dropped her guard, and generally having the best fight of their short lives.

Their moves became wilder, angrier, fueled by something deeper and darker then simply working out or training. Faith's knuckles pounded into Buffy's healing black eye. The heel of Buffy's hand crashed against Faith's ribcage, making her gasp for breath and stumble backwards. Faith grabbed her arms and flipped her back, Buffy held on and dragged Faith over with her. They crashed through the pane of the window, back out into the front garden. Buffy's cheek got scratched by a dead branch, the skin turning pink but not breaking.

"Don't hold back." Faith said through gritted teeth, pinned to the ground under a rain of Buffy's punches.

"What?" Buffy asked, her voice equally short, trying to ignore the pressure Faith was putting on her windpipe, digging lacquered nails into the skin of her throat.

"Let go. I wanna see some slayer strength."

"You sure?"

"Damn sure."

"Ok."

Suddenly, Buffy sat back and stopped punching.

"Brace yourself." she said, her voice devoid of emotion. Then her fist came down against Faith's arm, the bones breaking with a wet crunching sound. Faith gave an involuntary cry of pain, her eyes rolling back. Her ponytail tie was digging into the back of her neck and she was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation of this small discomfort. Everything felt amplified, in fact. The tiny shards of glass under her back, the errant strands of hair tickling her face. Apart from the first jolting burst of agony, she couldn't even feel the break in her arm.

Buffy collapsed on top of her. Their eyes locked, faces inches apart, breathing in time, ragged panting.

After a few seconds Buffy blinked and got to her feet.

"Come on, I'll splint that arm for you."

~~~

As Buffy was binding Faith's arm, the phone rang. They ignored it, and after a couple of trills the machine clicked into life.

"Hey. You've reached Buffy Summer. If you're hearing this message I'm probably dead, and in all likelihood I'll never get back to you. Still, leave your name, just because you can."

A loud beep and a British accent came through over the speaker. Buffy continued to attend to Faith's arm.

"Ms Summers, when you get this message please call the council. You're needed in Chicago."

"Of course I am." Buffy muttered, pinning Faith's bandage in place. "Of course they'd call me away when I finally have a reason to stay at home."

Faith looked surprised at that, although part of her startled expression might have been because her arm had started to hurt a lot.

"I'm a reason to stay?" she ventured finally, knowing she must have misinterpreted Buffy's words.

"Do you see any sort of joy in my life?" Buffy queried, packing away the first aid kit, opening another small box. "For two and a half months my life has been slay, sleep, drink. Once a week I get a collect call from a blemish named Zabuto to check if I'm still alive or if his dear, sweet angel of a student is the slayer now." Buffy's tone was more sadness then anger.

Angel. Faith held back the wash of guilt that name threatened to unleash and instead concentrated on what Buffy was doing, drawing clear liquid out of a small bottle with a syringe.

"Your adrenalin is gonna wear off eventually, and your arm is gonna hurt like hell. This is morphine." Buffy explained.

"I think it's starting now." Faith agreed, biting her lip so she wouldn't scream like a little girl.

"Ok. Come into the bedroom, it's going to knock you around a bit. We should sleep anyway."

Faith followed her into the master bedroom again, hoping that she could last the extra minute without the painkiller.

"Shouldn't you call the watcher guys back?" she asked Buffy, who was playing quite the nurse, fluffing pillows and turning covers back.

"I will later. I like to call them at hours when they have to get out of bed." the comment was coupled with a smirk. "Now, you've got a couple of hairline fractures, I think, which don't take long to heal. They'll probably be a bit sore in wet weather from now on, though. I have a shoulderblade that does that. Ok, get in bed and I'll fix you up."

"Yes Mommy." Faith said sarcastically, climbing into the nest of warm featherdown. Buffy crawled in the other side and gripped Faith's arm, slapping the skin inside her elbow to raise a vein and then injecting the needle's contents with practiced efficiency.

Faith felt lightheaded from the combination of seeping painkiller and jagged pain, the warmth of the bed and the weight of Buffy beside her. She moved slightly, lazily, the world suddenly a soft and fuzzy place. Her mouth pressed against Buffy's, the skin so soft that it hurt more then her broken arm for a moment, until lips parted and they melted together.

The only thing in Buffy's mind, as Faith's slippery-sweet tongue darted into her mouth, sharp little teeth nipping playfully, the warm swirl of a kiss filling her head, was the simple and nonsensical thought 'Oh, I remember you'.

Conscious of Faith's broken arm, they curled around each other, a moment of comfort in the dimness of the room, curtains drawn against the afternoon sun.

Finally, eventually, faces slick with tears and kisses, holding on for dear life, they slept.

 

~~~


End file.
